Hi, I have several older, 1990s, Dragon Panzer IV kits, as well as several Panzer III kits sitting in my stash. I’ve been sitting on them for decades now, cuz I really don’t have the “model time” to build these kits due to all the time needed all the individual track pieces.... I attempted a few years ago to build the tracks for a Soviet T-80, with a very poor final product that I wasn’t happy with.

With that said, is there any makers of quality “one piece” rubber tracks for Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs variants, to include the Hummel SPG.

I’m basically a straight out of the box builder and I really do not need any super detailing since I’m good with “mid 70s” level of kit building details.

I’m looking at going into full retirement by March 2021 and this is something I want to spend some of my free time on... Since now, I’ll finally have some “me time.”

Thanks for looking and for any advice!!

Try ebay for Dragon DS tracks.

Dragon DS tracks are very detailed, but they have a fatal flaw, they perish, after a few years they become very brittle and crumble at the slightest movement.

As for aftermarket replacements, I'm addicted to Fruilmodel tracks, I think the weight of the metal gives an authentic look and sag especially to WWII German tanks.

Sometimes they manage to become brittle and crumble inside the packaging before even getting mounted on the model ....

I have several leftovers but I don't want to inflict them on anyone

Yes, I've thrown mine away and warn all my friends about using them.

While I appreciate your OOB only, building, you could do yourself one big favor. If you do only one thing: as soon as you buy a kit, with either rubber tracks or tires, trash them, and purchase resin, or metal, or plastic replacements. You won't be sorry, and you will have a much better, longer lasting, non rubber build. All substitutes for rubber are easily painted and won't flake off, adds way better detail, and will not rot, or deteriorate, while on the shelf.

The T-80 track is a double-pin track which means that the connectors between two links are angled in relation to both links.
The styrene tracks in the old Dragon kit had the connectors molded in line with one track link which is the correct way for a straight or only slightly curved track. Since most links on a mounted track are in the top or bottom run the best choice is to make them like Dragon did. This can be solved by carefully cutting of the connectors and gluing them back at the correct angle. Somewhere around a dozen links per track need to have this fix.

there is a seller on ebay who sells one piece tracks I usually buy from he may have some 1 piece tracks for your projects i will pm you his ebay id

I have 7 builds on my shelf using DS tracks at least 10 years old,only one has broken up,but with all of the complaints,I would never recommend them.Had zero problem with the newer Tamiya one piece.Invest the time in indies,its a hobby,its suppose to consume time.Pz IV one piece look awful,they are do thin they do look like rubber bands,I wouldn't use them.

when you also do commission builds you dont have time to waste on indi link tracks when you have a schedule to keep

I can do a set of workable individual links in a couple of nights,magic tracks in one night.

Okay but I was answering the OP,and he didn't say he was doing commission builds.

Wow... Thanks for the heads-up on those Dragon magic tracks... I was on eBay looking at several sets... About $100 worth!!

And I "thought" Dragon was doing a good thing with their Magic Tracks. This is why I came here to get the real story!!

Does anybody know if Tamiya USA sells their newer one-piece tracks separately AND if Tamiya tracks would fit on the older Dragon kits??

Thanks for all the replies!!

Do not mix DS tracks with Magic Tracks, completely different things. Magic tracks are individual, plastic, track links.

As you can see many modellers replace their tracks with aftermarket ones, so it should not be difficult to get their discarded vinyl ones for a very low price or even for free. If you have a modelling club close to you, ask them. Or post a message at buy/sell forum.

Dragon DS-tracks are glueable one piece tracks.
Looks like this when they are still in their packaging:

This set is showing a slight tendency to imprint itself on the plastic bag. This could be a first sign that they are going bad. I think that the chemical compound which keeps the material in the track soft is starting to leak out and affect the plastic bag.

Unfortunately they can also look like this:

This set was beginning to crack and split so I pulled them over my finger to simulate one full circuit around the drive sprocket and the result is in the image.
If I had been extremely careful I might just possibly have gotten them on the model with only three or four breaks. Now I decided to have fun with them ...
When I opened the bag it was all oily inside, presumably from the compound that keeps the tracks soft.

Magic Tracks look like this

This particular set of tracks is handed. Later version of Pz III/IV tracks where the trackpin has a head at one end. The pin-head faces inwards towards the tank chassis so the links for the left and the right side of the tank have the pins on different sides. This is why it comes in two bags. Sometimes they are molded in different shades of grey as well.

Did you read the tutorial about indy link tracks that I sent to you using the Message feature here at Kitmaker?

This article could be worth reading:
https://www.panzermodels.co.uk/blogs/news/choosing-tracks-for-your-scale-models

You might want to check out the track exchange and see if anyone has any of the tracks you're after.

Ted Bee;

You are soon retiring and you expect to have more free time (right.... I'm retired now 4 years... STILL looking for that "extra FREE time"! ) to spend on our shared hobby...

That's a great and likely very satisfying ambition - to have more time to devote to the hobby -, friend! So.... Go for learning how to efficiently build "indy-link track sets"!

Links. ONLY way I go for most tracked vehicles. There ARE some modern tracked vehicles, and even a few WWII types (like Shermans and their relatives) whose link tracks are hi-tension "live" tracks which almost "never" exhibit sag. But IF you are a fan of WWII German, French, Russian, Italian, or Japanese tanks, sag is a "way of life" - virtually all of these vehicles used pinned "dead" link tracks which generally, per photos, exhibited some to A LOT of sag. And rubber band tracks are, at best, difficult to make look properly sagged (you CAN do so - there are techniques to achieve good sag looks with bands, but it takes work and technique). I will put aside the other "rubberband track issues" of frequent decay, painting problems, etc., and stick with saying that most band tracks are actually poor representations detail and look-wise for the tracks they are supposedly modeling. Most are too thin, lack some characteristic "horn" or other visible details, and ALL do a mediocre-to-poor job of showing the little gaps seen between links on real tracks and easily done with link sets.

The looming issue for many of us retirees and others, however, is that many better kits (and, for Pz. III and IV types and variants, Dragon has long been a fountain of great kit-wealth, IMO) already come with link sets, and replacing ANY kit track set with something new will cost you additional money. So, unless money is no matter, buying new tracks makes the hobby considerably more costly.

I started out fearing link tracks - had a couple awful experiences early on when I returned to this hobby after 35 years "away doing other things"... I was discouraged, as I had just recently "invested in" several Dragon "German" kits - all of which came with those little bags of "Magic Tracks". But I pulled a Dragon out and built it... I quickly realized that not all link sets were even near the same... The Magics went together easily and quickly (took me 3 hours to build and sag my first Pz. IV set...). The FIRST link sets I had struggled thru were a couple of tiny-link sets from old "east-bloc: kits - awful in every way! The Dragon Magics (and later Kaizen and Modelkasten and fruil "working sets" and various other brands of kit links) have almost all gone smoothly. Yes, some take a bit longer than do others, but THE LOOK is always well-worth the time and effort!

There are great tutorials on building links and many modelers here and elsewhere will certainly gladly share their approaches. The point is: YOU should, IMHO, go for it and jump into doing the link sets - you will soon master a technique that allows you to get your great-looking tracks without too much fuss or effort. Your build satisfaction will go way up, and you will soon discover that the links may well open up other detailing opportunities, etc. And you will SAVE money by building the often very good kit sets, and spend the extra cash on other stuff rather than on replacing stuff that you have already paid for.

Cheers, and Good Luck with both retirement and your further adventures into our great hobby!

Bob

I sent you a PM.